Off The Grid

It was cold as hell and I was running late as I raced to Enfield Superior Court to photograph Rambo one afternoon in January 2000.

I took a curve on Post Road, hit a patch of ice and my black Chevy Cavalier and I ended up in a big gully, pointing down. Off the grid.

I took my cameras out of the trunk and walked the rest of the way to the courthouse, freezing.

Rambo was actually James Bo Gritz, which is to say that Bo Gritz is actually Rambo, the real-life model for the character played by Sylvester Stallone in the movies.

He was most decorated Green Beret of the Vietnam war. He was an icon of the Patriot Movement. He was the man who talked Randy Weaver into surrendering at Ruby Ridge. He was a presidential candidate. And, on this particular day, he was a civilian contesting a charge of kidnapping.

(The kidnapping story is a long and twisty one, consistent to Bo's character in that whether in jungles of Southeast Asia or the suburbs of Connecticut, he always seems to be trying to rescue somebody from harm. This time the authorities said he went a little too far. He was acquitted of the charge)

The first time I had heard of Bo was in a 1995 article by Philip Weiss in the New York Times Magazine. In it Bo talks about a place he called "Almost Heaven," a couple of hundred acres of land in Idaho he and partners were selling to people who wanted to escape government tyranny. The title of the piece was "Off the Grid." Here's how it starts:

"A warming morning late in October, and James (Bo) Gritz stands on a mountaintop in north-central Idaho, addressing the faggot press. His words."

Bo met me outside court during a break. He saluted. The image was made. And then I told him that my car was in a ditch about a half mile away.

He offered to give me a ride to the car and he and a friend hopped into an SUV and we drove to the scene of the accident.

Bo Gritz to the rescue! I was saved! It was a big vehicle, and here was the man who taught paramilitary and survivalist skills to people so that they could be ready so stand up to the New World Order. He was one person who you would expect to be prepared. For anything.

We pulled up to the gully. Bo and his friend took a hard look. It didn' t take him long for him to come to a conclusion.

Sorry, pal. Can't help ya.

I watched them drive away.

Pro's tips: Have AAA and a tip for a kid who looks a little like Sylvester Stallone with a tow truck and a long steel cable with the guts to put the petal to the metal.